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Following is the transcript (English portion) of the question and answer session given by the Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, at Government House this (June 24) morning:

Reporter: On inclusion of the leaders of the Liberal Party and the DAB, I wonder if LegCo is going to be sidelined and in particular do you plan to take any steps to improve relations with the pro-democracy legislators in your second term ?

Chief Executive: I said earlier on that this Government will be an open, accountable and progressive government and we will be seeking dialogues and reaching out to all forces within this particular community to make sure that we have the largest and the broadest support possible as we move forward the policies.

Reporter: There have been reports saying that you have encountered quite a lot of difficulties in finding the right candidates for the job, and probably some of the ministers are not your first choice. How would you react to this comment? And also, as you know some ministers have quite strong ties with the tobacco industry and the big tycoons. Will that affect the credibility of this new Government?

Chief Executive: I want to tell you through this process of choosing all the officials under the accountability system, I have seen and interviewed a very wide cross-section of people. I really saw many people. And I was surprised that the news media actually did not pick it up earlier of what I have done. But let me tell you, having seen everybody, this is my first team. And they are the best, and they will be the best. Yes there are others who for different considerations, they felt that it is not the right time for them to become the officials under the accountability system. But I want to emphasise this is the best team. Now with regards to the other points you have made, we have responded to them already. I just want to assure you I trust my colleagues standing here totally and implicitly. Thank you all very much.

End/Monday, June 24, 2002

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